Surviving the Night On Bald Mountain
by romanov16
Summary: AU Falling Star Universe. It's All Hallow's Eve in Eastern Europe, and the Team thinks that their mission has gone as smooth as can be. But when an anicent evil awakenspirits, and takes a horrific intrest in corrupting the young heros' souls in a night of torment; the children must stand together, or fall into hell separately. No oc.


"Do you not know that tonight, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway?" ~ Bram Stoker "Dracula"

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P.S. this takes place in the Falling Star Universe, so please read that story for it to make full sense. Happy Belated Halloween.

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Chapter:1

Three day. Seventy two hours. 4,320 minutes.

That was how long the Team had been missing. It was also how long Batman and the rest of the League had gone without sleep. The last son of Krypton knew this for fact, given that his enhanced vision took in the hearts of his colleagues as the organs pounded with stress, cortisol pulsing a double the usual rate -even for meta humans.

Breathing out through his noise, Superman grimly raised his eyes into the flashing screen on the supercomputer -the sole light in the vast caverns that Bruce had made his both his underworld and personal inferno (at least till about five years ago, when one colorful burst manage to cackle his way pass the furies that had long kept guard over the domain).

"Nothing so far?" Superman asked weary, as he floated up from the meta tube to stand besides his friend as his black casted finger pounded mercilessly on his keyboard, _tap-tap-tap,_ in a relentless search for any lead -no matter how small at this point- for the kids.

"No," the Batman grounded back, the amount of anger and fear woven into that one word being ground leveling.

...It was suppose to be a simple mission, a simple illegal weapons deal between Southern Kaznian militants in eastern Europe and a brach of the slavic mafia, who had chosen to meet in the _velik gozd_ (great forest) of their native country, since even government enforcement feared to enter it at all, on All Hallow's Eve (and unforgivable sin in the Dark Knight's cowl-covered sight). Weapons including armor piercing rounds that would make life a constant danger for the local law enforcement, but nothing the Team couldn't handle.

Or so they thought.

Well, Superman amended, that wasn't entirely fair. The confrontation between their students and the targets of the mission had gone off without issues, being over in a matter of minutes. They knew this due to Aqualad dutiful reporting immediately after the fact, the only issue they seem to have being the fact that Kid Flash and Artemis could be heard arguing aggressively over the channel, with Starfire trying to keep the peace.

It was only when Aqualad began asking advice in disciplining his teammates (proving again that he was an ideal choice for Team Leader)...that the mission had gone haywire. First, it was something as simple as static over the comlink, a blurring of the voices with a screeching whine high enough to cut glass, (the entire team's gasp of pain had been audible, and in the Cave's HQ, the mentors had shared it.) At first thinking it was nothing more than a bad connection, Black Canary and Tornado had tried to straighten it out, while Aqualad did likewise from his own end.

But when that whine had turned to rapid, and distinguishable, moaning of a dozen some voices, alarm had set in like the cold breath down the spine. Visually cut off, Batman, Carney, and Tornado had only been able to imagine what was happening as the kids began to gasp and cry out...and then Artemis and Starfire began to scream. And Wally soon after them.

At this point they had tried to run out the door, only to find a power surge had locked them in, and disable the meta tubes. And before anything could be done to force though, one last message had come crackling through the comm before the device went dead.

 _"Come find what left of them, if you can."_

...By the time they had escape their own fortress -reflecting bitterly that this wasn't the first time it had failed them- and made their way to the kids' last known location...only the dealers had been their, tossed into the haul of the Team's malfunction, broken ship, tied with some of Robin's wrist restraints, trembling with cold and shock, the weapons reduced piles of dust. The Team were nowhere in sight.

Questioning the crooks that proven fruitless -and it did little to ease their fear to realize all the men save for one had been reduced to complete turnips. They knew nothing -and when J'onn had gently probed their minds for hidden answers...the master mindreader had drawn away, reeled away, in white hot pain, crashing to the floor.

Rising up on shaking hands, the Martian had only shaken his head helplessly.

"These men...they have seen an evil energy in such force, it has broken their reason. They were defenseless against it, mentally, for it had no use for them. And this...energy...it was fascinated by the Team. So it took them...I can not say where."

Needless to say, that had been of very little comfort.

Three days...and not a hint of the kids. It was if they had been snatched off the face of the earth.

And it didn't help to note that on the computer screen, Batman had now researching Kaznian Hollows Eve's myths, witch's Sabbaths, and the like -topics that Superman knew his friend like to avoid whenever possible. Actually, he did too, for very much the same reason. But they couldn't avoid it now...there were few other viably possibilities at this point.

Breathing deeply, the Man of Steel did what few in the universe would dare too, and placed a hand on the black covered shoulder.

"We'll find him Bruce, I promise you," Superman told his friend somberly, his gaze unyielding. "We'll find all of them. Whatever it takes. And we'll bring them home."

* * *

 _Three Days Earlier_

 _"Oh,_ I'm _a_ _wuss? Well, at least I'm not the newbie who drove Red Arrow off the Team!_ " Wally snipped back heatedly through his comlink, his face flaming as angrily as his hair as glared from his own position on the ground up to the towering tree tops, where the current bane-of-his-existence ( aka, generously named Artemis) in place of more...inventive titles... was station.

Really, did Blondie have to make an already suckish situation worse, he thought, growler, miserably as he rubbed his black gloved hands at super-speed over himself, trying desperately to ward off frostbite.

Okay, okay, that last bit might be an exaggeration... _but not by much_ , the speedster bemoaned. October nights in Kaznian wilderness were _c-c-cold._ Bitterly, biting _cold_ , and on top of that it was _Halloween;_ back home, there were dozens of pearl precious treats waiting in houses that had his name on it. _Buut_ instead of going out to _collate_ his bounty as Boba Fett (with his home made, prize winning costume)he was clenching his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering, and when he had the misfortune to bite his tongue, did he get _any_ sympathy?

 _Nope._

Rob had nearly fallen out of his tree laughing like the goblin he was, while Superboy had rolled his eyes, not getting what the big deal was -easy for him, the dude could wear a t-shirt in the Antarctic and not be cold, and Rob had his heater-cape for warmth- and Aqualad had sternly ordered him to remain focus on the task at hand -nabbing the soon-to-be-coming bad guys - and their newly attained headache -aka, generously named Artemis- had scoffed, and called him a wuss. So naturally he retaliated, because, really, she had been doing hero-work for _how long,_ compared to the rest of them?

 _"That is so not on me!"_ the archeress hissed back with a sharply contained fury, her eyes flashing the same silver as the full moon above them, rabid as a werewolf. (the green fur around the hood of her hunter's parka really helped with the illusion.) _"That baby made his own choice to play the lone ranger -I'm here to stay so learn to man up and deal with it! And would you quite touching yourself? I know Europe is more liberal when it comes to things like that, but believe me,_ no one _is going what to see what you got."_

Seething, Wally immediately threw that clean back at her head. _"Oh, is that so?"_

 _"Yes, it is!"_

 _"And how would you know?"_ Wally dared her. _"Have you been spying on me sweetheart?"_

 _"I'd sooner spy on guys at the old-folks home,"_ Artemis snorted. " _At least they have some charm left in them, Baywatch."_

 _"Oh and I don't?"_

 _"Does a bear crap in the woods?"_

 _"You-"_

 _"Oh really,"_ Starfire sighed from her own tree, golden arms crossed in sisterly-disappointment over her uniform's gold sewed tank-top (so again, she couldn't really get what it was to be cold). _"Can't you two just get alone?"_

 _"I would,"_ Wally protested, _"if she'd just-"_

 _"Both of you, stop it,"_ Aqualad snapped from his place on the ground. From the look of his face (and the blood vessel pounding in his forehead) it was clear he'd had _had_ it with this conversation. _"Pull it in, and save it for later, or I'll report both of you for discipline to your mentors."_

 _"Ah, come_ on,"Robin groaned, " _It was just getting interesting."_

Wally snorted, and crossed his arms firmly over his chest, steaming. He really had to consider why the troll was his best friend.

Suddenly Superboy tensed, his form straightening, hearing what they could not.

"Trucks are coming from the south," he informed them, and just like that, all conversations with pains-in-the-asses (aka, generously know as Artemis) were put aside as the Team slipped from being teenagers to being heroes. They could not mess this up -Kaznia was one of those country with a long history of nothing going right for it, nothing staying stable. Armed and radicalized militants would only help it downward spiral to a third world waste-land.

Wally and the others had seen up front the fear in the local town, where they had spent the day -naturally in their civvies. But even that had stopped the majority of parents from pulling their kids away from them, making the signs of the cross with murmured word before backing away from them like they were suicide bombers...which wasn't such an unrealistic threat nowadays. (And it probably hadn't helped that Star had planted one on a local boy to learn the language -though the dude himself didn't seem to mind, even if Rob was another story.)

One kind grandmother had eventually explained that the town already on edge to begin with, since it was V _ečer Vseh Svetih (Eve of all Saints)_ where the evil spirits would rise up to try and challenge heaven by committing profane evil...blah, blah,blah.

Frankly he had stop listening at that point, and it was only Artemis's sharp elbow and burning glare that stopped him from snorting out load. But the granny must have read his disbelief on his face, because at her insistence, she had given him a small, fancy wooden cross from around her neck -one that looked pretty old, even compared its owner.

"Z _a tvojo mamo,"_ she had insisted. _For your mother's shake._

She had look so painfully concerned, he had taken it and put it on. He was still wearing it. It wasn't gonna bit him or anything after all, and it was kinda neat, craftsmanship wise. It would make a nice souvenir back at the Cave.

Wally shook his head. _Focus West,_ he reminded himself and the rumble of trucks came closer. _Game time._

* * *

Two military style trucks slowly came crawling through the low woven mist like an owl's reflective eyes, crushing the dead leaves littering the ground, and groaning under their labors until their engines were cut, and the occupants spilled out -one containing a series of hard-eyed, dark haired men that spoke of southern European heritage -compared to the fairer colored northerners- and the other holding well dress members of Slovakian mafia.

Both parties had members that seemed tensed, likely they wanted to be anywhere but here, the Boy Wonder noted immediately, seeing their perspire gleam in the moonlight. The kept sneaking glares at the mountain that dominate the landscape, Mt. _Plešasto Hudičev Domov_ (bald devils home) or otherwise know as Bald Mountain, famous around the world due to the fact that only one man had ever successfully climbed it...only to go insane afterwards, which was only sightly better than the rest of the attempted climbers, given that the always showed up dead at the mountains base, with looks of horror on their faces.

(He'd enjoyed telling the ghost stories to his teammates until Starfire asked him to stop, the Shieldmaiden stating the tale was disrespectful to the dead, to be spoken of so near their dying place -"Especially on this _Eve of Hallows_ " as the warrior girl put it -Starfire was very firm about giving the dead their due. Spirits were often on her mind, due to learning of her family's deaths last July. That was why he stopped).

(...Off topic, but it was a major pity that he and the others hadn't been able to introduce her to the joy of Halloween, he was sure she'd love it. Ah well, maybe next year.)

Still, the youngest boy had to admit he was surprised at the level of few that came from those certain men, and just the level of uneasiness overall. Normal these types of meetings had fanfare, pissing contests, bragging...but there was none of that here. Nothing but the tense need to be over and done with this -and in a certain amount of time as well, Robin realized, given that many men were checking and double checking their watches. They did it so often he actually looked at his own -it was eleven:forty.

They wanted to be out of here by midnight, the Bat's Brat concluded. Then he smiled. Well tough luck for them.

With out saying much, they unloaded the crates holding the armor piercing round, and some other goodies besides, before squaring off nose to nose to try and debate the price.

They never reached a conclusion.

 _"Now,"_ Aqualad spoke with deceptive calm. And then Pandemonium reigned.

Robin and Artemis had the privilege of starting it off, devilishly tossing a smoke bombs (or in the girl's case arrows) down in to the middle of the group (and when it went off, the militants screamed far louder than one would expect for men in their profession.) And when confusion was raging, Wally burst out of his hiding place in a streak of black and red, his goggles lowered, disarms every man he could by snatching as the weapons they tried to whipped out.

Unfortunately, the speedster's teenage length arms could only carry so much -and on top of that, these dude were packing so seriously heavy heat, and no man had come armed with only one gun...those that remained struggling to aim at the soaring blur. That was were the others came in. Starfire with her bolts quickly made herself the more apparent problem, as did Aqualad with his water whips, distracting the militants while Superboy seized and slammed the men each other or nearby trees, where Robin and Artemis carefully bounded them with wrist restraints.

It was all over in a matter of minutes, the Team noted with no small matter of satisfaction, shyly grinning at one another, eyes expressing a delight that their profession forbid them to say. It hadn't been too long since Artemis had joined them...hadn't been even a year since the Gordanian invasion that had formed the Team at all.

Yet with every mission, they only got better and better. They only grew stronger.

 _We'll be members of the League in no time,_ was the universal thought, the shared dream.

But now wasn't the time for such thing, they could celebrate back at the cave, for now their was work to do, Aqualad sternly reminded both himself, and his team. They had work to do to try and insure peace in this area, and the people that lived in it.

"Superboy, Starfire, and K.F. bring the militants back to the ship. The rest of you, grab the crates. We must turn them in to the Kaznian government."

Artemis snorted even as she moved to obey his order...the usual turn of events regarding her.

"You think the government here can do anything except give them a slap of the wrist? They weren't even willing to go into the woods tonight to arrest them!"

"Blondie's got a point," Wally nodded as he hauled his guy up over his shoulder -though it looked painful for him to agree with the archeress.

"Odds are they be back on the street in a matter of mouths," Robin added with a wryly, slightly bitter grin. "Kinda like Gotham, now that I think about it."

"...Regardless, we have our duty," the Atlantian said firmly. "Lets get it done."

* * *

"Yep," Robin drawled out a short time later, as the Team began loading the last of the weapon crates into the stranded League Craft, popping the _p_ like a sour candy, as the inky haired boy fiddled with the his wrist computer. "Just like Bats thought, these weapons trace back to Lexcrops."

Wally rolled his eyes as he and Artemis struggled with a particularly heavy crate up the ramp. "Well. There's a big surprise," the redhead stated sarcastically. "I mean -seriously. I might have a heart attack and die form that surprise-"

"You can have as many heart attacks as you want Kid Dork," Artemis grunted. "But if you trip and make us fall down, I'm going to kill you first."

Wally narrowed his eyes as he struggled to see her in the nighttime...gee, it really got _dark_ in this part of the world. It almost reminded him of Rob's city back home.

"Oh, you mean like _this?_ "

Without warning, (and admittedly childishly) he gave the crate a strong push that very near made the golden-haired girl tumble like Jill down the ramp-of-a-hill...though her mouth was more suited to a sailor than a Mother goose storybook, as the archeress steady her footing.

"You little-" she hissed, before bracing her legs and giving him a strong push in return, from her side of the crate. "How do _you_ like it?!"

"You started it!"

"Because your an _idiot!_ "

"I know what you are but what am I?" Wally taunted, trying to turned the tide back in his favor...but all it did was make the gray-eyed girl irate.

"Do you want the short list or the long?" she growled. "Believe me, I could stand here all night just to cover the basics. _Loudmouth, moron, oaf,_ and _incompetent_ would each get it's own sub category."

Wally felt his face growing hot.

Then suddenly, the crate was ripped from both of their arms by a very ticked-off Superboy.

"Both of you cut it out!" the clone snarled before he began marching up the ramp. "I'm sick of hearing you!"

The Kryptonian stomped so hard, the whole ship shook, making a few of the militants gasp in shock as they began to come to.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy Supes," Robin soothed, as he ran up the gray ramp after him, holding his hands up before his older (and younger) teammate. "Don't let em get to you."

"How do _you_ not let it bother you?" the boy of steel asked seriously, as he tried to quite the ringing in his ears, and uncurled his fists. He never thought there be something he hated as much as monkeys, but this was coming close.

Robin grinned. "For me its first-rate entertainment."

"However, I second you Superboy,"Starfire added as she floated over to them, the Sheildmaiden's her booted feet hovering off the floor, as she crossed her gauntlet covered arms, sighing heavily. "Listening to them is like hearing a flobgar screech at a gorback -both are too stubborn to back down, and just make the rest of the jungle miserable."

"Which is why their mentors will be informed about it," Aqualad stated as he entered the main room of the craft that contained the Teams' seats. "This had gone on long enough and now borders on the ridiculous."

" _What?!"_

This came from both their remaining teammates as the entered the main room as well, jaws slake and eyes wide. Aqualad didn't flinch, but met their eyes steadily.

"I gave you fair warning. You chose to ignore it," the dark skin boy stated calmly. "Now go and make double sure the prisoners are totally disarmed."

Cheeks burning, Wally and Artemis turned to do just that, and the others roll their eyes as the two began once more picking at each other before they were out the door.

"Their hopeless," Superboy predicted gloomily, pitting his ear drums.

Robin snorted. "No kidding, I've meet Republicans and Democrats that don't snip at each other so hard."

Starfire tilted her head at that, intrigued. "What are those?"

"Urm-ask me when we get back," he told her, not feeling up to describing American politics at the moment. The flaming haired girl looked a tad disappointed, which made his stomach twitch guiltily, tied up like a pretzel knot.

"...Alright," she accepted it however, before the auguring between their teammates grew even louder. Turning towards the door, she made her way after them. "I'm going to see if I can stop them from killing each other."

Robin snorted again.

"Good luck with that _Chakano_ ," he wished her sincerely, grinning at her (and delighting when she blushed in reply, golden cheeks turning redder then the apples people bobbed for at Halloween parties). "You'll need it."

The warrior girl smiled, and then she was gone out the door, and the rest of them all headed to their seats, buckled in; Aqualad trying to start the ship. Only...nothing happened. Frowning, Aqualad tried again. Nothing.

Robin raised an eyebrow, and hopped back up. "What's going on?"

"I am not sure," the Atlantean replied, as he began fiddling with the controls. "But the ship is not working."

"Yeah we see that," Superboy brooded, slumping in his own seat.

Sighing, Aqualad rubbed his brows, feeling the length of the night.

"I suppose I will make a report to the Cave via the commlink. There is not much else too do."

As the older boy stood and began to due just that, Robin was frowning himself as he squatted down and began to look at the wiring. This ship-craft was made by the same people who designed the bat-wing...it shouldn't just _not-work_.

But everything seemed to be in place, from what he could tell. But just to be sure, he activated his wrist computer to pull up the manual...

And nothing. His mask widening in disbelief, the boy hit the on button a few more times before cursing under his breath, the shivers of real alarm starting to make their way down his spine...this...this wasn't normal. Not remotely.

And his thought was doubled when behind him Superboy suddenly squinted up out the viewing screen to the outside,before tensing in horror.

"Guys..." Superboy voice spoke urgently as his broad hand grasp his shoulder. "Robin, Aqualad, something happening on that mountain!"

Their heads snapping up, the question on their lips died a quick death as both the oldest boy and the youngest got good looks, of the phenomenon unfurling itself on the mountain top ...the smaller red and black clad boy near tripped on his nimble legs as he scrambled to stand, and Aqualad's stateman's voice falling away in the middle of a sentence to Black Canary...which she did not like.

"Aqualad, are you there? Are you there?" the older hero asked over the channeled, her tone betraying nothing but professional emotion. "Aqualad respond."

But for once the oldest boy couldn't- he...he had no words to describe this... _thing_ taking place. They three of them could only stare.

High up the peck of Bald Mountain, framed in an anti-halo of murky black-green fog two enormous wings were cracking, unfurling, like the braking of some seriously messed up cocoon, the wings not so different than those of bats; all angles and black folds, with a wicked horn on each corner. They dominated the sky...but only served to crown the...thing it was attached too.

It...it was...big...humanoid, the youngest boy's mind manged to processed...b-but definitely not alien...the aura it gave off, even from miles away...being all to earthy. Like Scarecrow's fear gas, Robin could feel his most primeval, animal-like terror rising to his throat at the sight of the creature, even from miles away, It black-blue skin gleaming in the glow of its wide, unnaturally yellow eyes that sat beneath its horned head.

The thing sat _naked_ on the mountain peak, on a throne of black stone, its arms crossed over it burly chest like a roman emperor, cold and indifferent as he judged the mortals below, before choosing too tossed his victims to the really, Robin preferred that to when the thing began to _smile_.

It...it was like the Joker's smile -cruel and sadistic with a brand of humor no other sane person would find funny. Only a million times worse, and a million times bigger.

And the... _thing_...from miles upon miles away...the thing looked down at them _-at them-_ before extending one hand in their direction, his finger curled in a " _come hither"_ motion, fangs grinning, his mind -ancient, powerful, well-versed, knowing them- pushing against their own forcefully. Wanting them.

Someone was groaning, someone was whimpering -and it was with no small amount of dread that the boys realized it was _them._

 _"W-w-wt goin-on th-ere,"_ Canary broken up voice demanded. " _Com-in-"_

Somehow, Robin managed to speck the obvious.

"I'm beginning to get why the government and the locals wanted to stay out of this forest," he said, heart pounding and hands shaking.

Neither Superboy or Aqualad responded...because just then, the shadow of the things hand covered their ship completely, bathing in to a total _reeking_ blackness unlike anything they ever known, that made they gag as they fumbled blinding for each other, for their _own_ thoughts.

Then flashes of slow moving white blurs began to float before them...raising straight up from the ground, arms stretched before them...

Then the girls began to scream.

* * *

Reviews make me happy so tell me what you thought and I'll update sooner.

Hey Guys! I'm back. I wanted to post this for Halloween, but it wasn't ready in time. Oh well. Obviously, this is based on the Fantasia segment. How do you like it so Far? Fair warning, this story is going to be a mind screw, may even bump up the rating.


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